​A group of women gather together in a home in Trujillo, Peru. They begin ripping old paper, which they soak in water to turn into pulp. Then they add the pulp to a sifting board to create handmade paper.

​For the last 10 years, that process has been the heart and soul of Peru Paper Company in Jackson. The company's owner, Grace Greene, says she has felt a special calling for the nation since first visiting Peru as part of a church mission trip.

"I love Peru as a country," Greene, a Fondren resident, says. "It's a beautiful place with good people and fantastic food, but I also have liked the community development."

In 2005, Greene moved to Trujillo to teach English and do economic-development work, and while there, she found a way to give more than language lessons to the local families. She learned about Peruvian paper-making through a woman who had been giving lessons in the town and decided it would be an interesting craft for the women she worked with, too.

What began as an extra activity soon became the foundation of Peru Paper Co., which has been based out of Greene's home in Jackson since she moved back in 2010. The company sells a variety of handmade, recycled-paper products, such as stationery, greeting cards and wall artwork. The designs come directly from the Peruvian women, whom Greene encourages to take creative liberty with their work. She also consults with them for company decisions.

When Grace Greene moved to Trujillo, Peru, she found that she could give more than just English lessons to women in that country. Photo courtesy Robby Followell

Outside its creative merit, though, this vocation allows the women in Trujillo to provide for their families in ways that were not possible before. "A lot of them didn't have stable income coming into their families, so it filled in the gaps for things, mainly for their children," Greene says. For instance, one woman was able to afford to turn her home's dirt floor into a real one.

In addition to the company's online store, customers can purchase Peru Paper Co. products at several retail stores around Mississippi and in other states, including Alabama, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Texas. The business also has items for sale at international stores including Nine50 Peruvian Silver Jewelry & Giftware in Windsor, Australia, and The Papery in Toronto, Canada.

Peru Paper has been an unexpected success, Greene says, but the most important factor is the success that it has brought to the women of Trujillo, Peru.